Wednesday, October 28, 2015

If you've ever dreamt of and searched for a perfect palette and know all the sorrows and disappointments of buying yet another palette, which is not quite what you expected, and know the pain of owning a lot of great palettes that you like but just are not in love with, then you'll understand why I'm about to rave about these beautiful customized Z palettes.

Yes, Z palettes are a way to go for you. There are tons of places where you can buy them nowadays. You buy them empty and fill them in with whatever single shadows (or blushes, or powders, or anything really) you want, whether it be by purchasing individual eyeshadows or by depotting the shadows that you already have into one palette getting rid of all the needless extra packaging. The best thing about these palettes is that you get to HAND PICK each product you put in there and arrange all of them in the way that is suitable for you. Can there be anything better? Plus, you can always change the contents or re-arrange the shadows as you wish.

Now, I do have to say that I have seen in many videos and have read in many blog posts that there are people out there (and, surprisingly, there are a lot of them) that have those Z palettes filled and they don't use them, or don't love them, or the colors in them are just not their favorite, and these palettes end up just sitting somewhere in the back of the makeup drawer collecting dust. Honestly, this really surprises me. How can you not take advantage of these palettes and not make them your favorite? If you don't love the colors in them or don't use them, get rid of them or re-arrange them, or depot the shadows you love and use in them. It is so fantastic that you get to create your own palette picking out every favorite color you want that it is foolish not to exploit this opportunity.

That being said if you don't put just random colors that you don't care about in there, but actually fill your palettes with what sparks joy in you, you WILL LOVE them with your whole heart.

Below are 2 of my Z palettes: one is, obviously, neutral with a mixture of mattes (9 mattes) and shimmers, duochromes and pearls (13 non-mattes), and the other one is colorful with mostly shimmers, duochromes, foiled shadows (12 non-mattes) and just a few mattes (3 mattes). I arranged the colors in the way that works for me, so that when I look at them I'd feel the creative juices flowing and get inspired to create many harmonious looks. The shadows are from Inglot and Makeup Geek and both of the blushes are from Makeup Geek as well.

And here are the colors from this palette:1. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Whimsical2. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Highwire3. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Daydreamer4. MUG duochrome eyeshadow in Blacklight5. Inglot eyeshadow in Pearl 4456. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Caitlin Rose7. MUG eyeshadow in Duchess8. MUG duochrome eyeshadow in Mai Tai9. MUG eyeshadow in Cupcake10. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Showtime11. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Mesmerised12. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Charmed13. MUG duochrome eyeshadow in Typhoon14. MUG foiled eyeshadow in Houdini15. MUG eyeshadow in Corrupt16. MUG blush in Head Over HealsAnd at the end of this post just to summarize everything I'd like to point out 10 benefits of a Z palette. If you are still hesitating to get it keep on reading :) :

opportunity to select any size of a Z palette (they come in many sizes)

ease of travelling with them

ability to hand pick each color and finish for the palette and create your own palette

ability to re-arrange colors as you like and when you like

ability to change the contents of your palette as you wish

chance to depot eyeshadows from other palettes or singles into one place

choice to put not just the eyeshadows but any other products or even a mixture of them into the Z palettes

way to become more organized and get rid of unnecessary packaging when depotting from other palettes or single eyeshadows

chance to create as many palettes with different color schemes and finishes as you want

the joy of having a personalized palette created by you and for you :)

I hope this post was helpful and inspiring to someone. Please, share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day.

Monday, October 19, 2015

I rarely do style or fashion posts, but this one I just had to share. Yesterday I bought a new bag. Yay! I can't say I needed another black bag, since I already have 2 black leather bags: one casual hybryd of bagpack and bucket bag, and another one, which is classic structured office-like bag. But, I just could not resist this one, plus it falls somewhere in-between those 2 categories in style, which is perfect. And I don't know who could NOT like it and resist buying it. It is all things you could wish for in a handbag.

So, I guess I'll just add all the pictures and then comment on some of the details and style, and why I love it so much.

Fellini Leather Bag

Fellini Leather Bag

Fellini Leather Bag

Fellini Leather Bag

Fellini Leather Bag

Fellini Leather Bag

So as you can see it is a structured bag with an opening on 2 cool-looking zippers (it also has an invisible magnet between the zippers to hold the flap close to the side of the bag when zipped, how smart, isn't it?), which can be worn holding a small handle on top or the longer strap that is detachable, which I find extremely handy. I love the proportions of this bag: it is a medium size, but looks quite compact. Yet it fits a lot of stuff inside. The style of it is just superb with a mixture of leather with different textures and silver hardware, which I personally prefer over the gold one. It is a bit classic but also a bit edgy, it is simple but definitely not boring. I love that it will look great with jeans and pants, but also can look very nice with skirts and dresses. I find it to be very versatile for many more reasons. It will look appropriate in the office at work, on any casual occasion or on a relaxed night out with friends. Even though it is not technically an evening bag, it can definitely work nice if you are going out somewhere after work because it is this perfect size and shape and a mix of classics and casual, simple, yet with a twist, it'll definitely work for many styles, so it is a great investment piece.

In terms of quality, it is all-leather, very good leather, made in Italy, with high quality hardware and all other materials including lining. The construction of it is also very well thought out. It is very comfortable to hold in one's hands and wear on the shoulder (because the detachable strap is the perfect length, not too long and not too short, falling a little beneath the waistline in a very comfortable spot), it is not heavy, it is reasonably lightweight yet not too light, just enough to feel that you are holding something substantial in your hands. It looks and feels amazing. I am very very happy I got this bag.

If you have a Fellini store in your area and looking to buy a new handbag definitely check this one out, you won't regret it. It is quite expensive (for me at least). Its initial price in the store where I bought it was around $290, but I got a discount and purchased it for around $202. However, I can already predict I'm going to have a lot of wear out of it :).

Tell me what you think about this bag, do you like it? What style do you prefer for yourself? Please, share in the comments. I would love to read your thoughts.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

I'm sure you've all heard about the new reformulated Chanel lipsticks that were launched in March 2015, the Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks. If you haven't heard of it yet where have you been?

Anyway, after all the hype around this launch has already come down over these months I decided to finally bring you the review of these new beauties.

Now the formula claims to be very hydrating, plumping, nourishing and super comfortable on the lips with buildable coverage. The collection features 29 new shades in 6 color palettes (Nudes, Oranges, Pinks, Rosewoods, Reds and Plums), each named after the friends, loves and muses of Mademoiselle Chanel.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks

Now, I have to make a little disclaimer here. I am not easily impressed by a lipstick formula for a couple of reasons:

- there are tons of great lipsticks available both among the drugstore brands and high-end ones with already a fantastic formula

- on the other hand, my lips are very picky, sensitive and dry. A lot of lipsticks, especially cheaper ones, but not only, cause terrible allergic reaction on my lips, so I can't use them (i.e. Maybelline lipsticks, Too Faced Lip Injection Color Bombs etc.), others - simply dry out my lips after they wear off, even a lot of the seemingly hydrating ones and the ones that everybody raves about, that includes a lot of lipbalms as well

With that in mind, the formula has to be pretty outstanding in order to impress me and make me eager to pay $36 for a lipstick.

That being said, Chanel new lipsticks are FANTASTIC. In fact, now it is my favorite creamy lipstick formula along with the Clarins Rouge Eclat lipsticks. They are my 2 favorites. The Chanel formula is everything it claims to be: smooth, comfortable, hydrating, plumping, nicely pigmented and buildable and glides on like a dream smoothing out the fine lines on your lips, which is a great bonus. It is just gorgeous. And that beautiful shine! Also, I find that it wears for quite a decent amount of time for such a creamy hydrating formula (about 3-4 hours depending on the color).

Below are the lipsticks and their shade names in the same order.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks: shade names in the same order as the lipsticks in the picture above

Below I've included lip swatches as well. Sorry, not all the lipsticks are swatched and the lighting is different in every picture. They were taken at different times, but I thought that it would still be better to include at least such photos than none at all. Even with different lighting it'll still give you some idea about how the colors might look in person. Again, I am totally fascinated by this formula and love the shades I've selected.

Vera is a very light shade, so it is perfect for fair skin tones or very pigmented lips for that healthy barely there tint with a shine. It is a lovely pinky-nude shade with beautiful finest golden sheen, very-very beautiful.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 432 Cecile

This to me is a perfect nude, not too warm-toned, not too cool-toned but a perfect in-between nude-beige-pink tone that is not too light. Gorgeousness in a tube! I actually bought 2 of those, because I don't ever want to be without Cecile :).

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 424 Edith

Now Edith has to be one of my favorite shades of the whole bunch if not the most favorite. It is a shade that will be flattering on everyone. Perfect mid-tone warm pink with beautiful shine, adds just the perfect amount of brightness to the face. Looks appropriate anytime and occasion and goes with everything, such a beautifying shade.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 426 Roussy

And Roussy is a very vibrant bordering on neon, but in a more wearable version, bright coral pink. A very summery and happy shade, also will look great on many skin tones.

Bottom line, if you want to treat yourself with a luxurious comfortable lipstick in a gorgeous color, absolutely go for one of these Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks. They are outstanding. And the shade range is gorgeous. You know how Chanel does the reds, don't you? They have the best red lipsticks, I think. And this line is no exception, the reds are beautiful there.

I hope this review was helpful. Please, share your thoughts in the comments below, I'd be happy to read them. Have a Roussy bright day :)!

Friday, October 16, 2015

I already shared my first impressions about this palette in this post, but today I'll give you a more in-depth review about it and show some swatches. It is theBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette. I bought it from theBalm's site. It is still available there for $39.50.

TheBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette

This palette is the same size and layout as the Balm Jovi palette. The packaging is super cute, fun and adorable with typical vintage pin-up-y vibe of theBalm. It is super compact and slim and contains:

- 9 eyeshadows

- 2 blushes

- 1 bronzer

- 1 highlight

- 2 lip and cheek creams

The cream products on the bottom of the palette have their own flap that keeps them closed and protected from fallout from the powder products on top, which I always find very handy. Also, on the inner side on that flap there are a few suggestions on the looks you can create using this palette.

Here is a closer look at the palette.

TheBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette

As you can see the colors are primarily warm with a few fun colors and darker shades thrown in for good balance, which, in my opinion, makes it a great summer AND fall palette at the same time. Plus, you get a great variety not only in the eyeshadow department but also in the face products, which really makes this little beauty a great piece of makeup especially if you are going for this warm-toned, bronze goddess, sultry look.

Here are the swatches of all the products as they appear in the palette.

TheBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette: swatches of products as they appear in the palette

The lighting doesn't do the right justice to these shades. They swatch and show up on the skin exactly as they look in the palette, which is an amazing characteristic of theBalm's products. Below is a closer look at the swatches.

TheBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette: swatches of products as they appear in the palette

TheBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette: swatches of products as they appear in the palette

In terms of quality I won't take your time and ramble too long. I'll just say this: ALL the products, be it in a powder or cream form, are of very very good quality, with great smooth textures, all very pigmented, blendable and longwearing. There's not much else to say about this palette.

One thing to note on the formula of the shadows though. I feel like it has definitely changed. If you compare it to the Balm Jovi or the Nude 'Tude palette, they are not as buttery, they are definitely a little bit drier and kick up slightly less powder. I think it is because they have less emollients in them. Although it is not worse, an it has not become chalky by any means, it is still very smooth, blendable and great, just a bit different. It is definitely reformulated, and whether you like it or not really depends only on your personal preference, because in terms of performance nothing has changed. It is still that same great pigmentation, smoothness, blendability and longevity, just a bit less creamy feeling.

So, here is the look that I've created with this palette. Everything colorful that you see on my face is from it. I don't remember exactly what I used (sorry about that) since it was in the summer (yeah, old pictures), but you can still get the gist of what kind of looks you can expect to get from this palette.

Look using theBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette

Look using theBalm Voyage Vol. 2 Face Palette

So, overall, this is a neat little palette that has a lot to offer in terms of variety and functionality. It is extremely travel-friendly and fun with its own twist. Love it.

I hope you found this review helpful. Let me know if you have any questions about this palette in the comments, I'll be glad to answer them. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

I am so excited to bring you this review! I recently purchased the new brush set from Wayne Goss, the Face Set, and I am in love with it. I've already raved about his first collection here, so it's no surprise I'd keep doing that with this brush set :). The price tag was $265, but I can already tell you it's worth every penny.

Here's how the set looked when it came to me and I removed all the extra packaging.

Wayne Goss. The Face Set

It came in a black Beautylish canvas pouch with a tube of brushes inside. Inside the tube the brushes were wrapped in a pretty polka-dotted paper (super cute). The tube had a red label on it saying 'Wayne Goss. The Face Set. Handcrafted in Japan and some other details blah-blah...'. I removed that sticker, because I know what's inside. Oh, it also had a piece of paper with instructions on how to clean and care for your brushes inside the tude, which is always nice to have.

Anyway, I thought that the tube would be some flimsy cardboard thing that was only good for throwing away, but NOOOOO. It is actually really sturdy and can totally be used for storing your brushes or for travelling, which was a very nice surprise for me. I really like it. It fits all the brushes nicely and has room for a few more smaller brushes. Perfect for travelling.

Wayne Goss. The Face Set

Wayne Goss. The Face Set

The set itself contains 6 multi-purpose face brushes that are made of natural hair but are cruelty free. Here is how the brushes look like. They are numbered 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 from left to right in the picture below.

Wayne Goss. The Face Set

Wayne Goss. The Face Set

Now, like I already said these brushes are so universal and smartly shaped that you can use each and every one of them to do more than 1 thing. They are all multi-purpose. So, there are no rules in how to use them, you can use them however you want. For this reason, I won't ramble too long about it but just mention a few key features of the brushes and how I personally prefer to use them.

Key characteristics of the WG brushes:

fantasticaly soft, the softest ones I have ever tried in my life

perfectly shaped and very well thought out

multi-functional

made of natural bristles

cruelty free

handcrafted by Japanese artisans

wash nicely, but take slightly longer to dry because of the natural hair

almost no shedding and no bleeding (I'll comment more on that further down)

hold the pigment incredibly

distribute the products on the face perfectly for a flawless finish

very well-made, sturdy and highest quality

beautifully designed visually and functionally and a joy to use

reletively short handles and easy to hold in your hand

mostly suited for, but not limited to, using with powder products

A few things to note on shedding. I've seen in many reviews that people are complaining about horrible shedding of some of these brushes, especially the white one for foundation, so I want to share my experience in that. When I first used the white brush it did shed like crazy, leaving a few hairs with foundation on my face, which is kind of gross, I almost got depressed. In addition, one or two other brushes left a few hairs on my face too, but it was nothing compared to the white brush. However, after I washed all the brushes throroughly and dried them, I didn't experience this shedding issue anymore, maybe just 1 or 2 small random hairs from the white brush the next 1 or 2 times. Now, nothing sheds for me anymore, and I am using those brushes every single day, so shedding is not an issue for me right now.

Now let me share with you the main uses for each of these brushes. Again, this is based strictly on my personal experience and preferences. You can use them for more than this.

Main uses:

Brush #10:

- foundation, especially liquid one, it distributes and blends it in seconds, however, for other types of foundation, like wax-based cream ones or powder ones that require more of a buffing in motion, something like a buffing brush would be better suited. This does not mean you can't use it for those foundations, I just find it works better for liquid foundations or BB creams rather than something more thick or solid.

Brush #11:

- powder (it's the biggest brush with perfect density for it)

- all-over light bronzer

- blush

Brush #12:

- any product that has poor pigmentation or just when I want to build up the coverage or pigment as this brush is the densest one

- setting powder or powder foundation

- blush

Brush #13:

- powder or mineral foundation

- setting powder

- contour

- blush

- bronzer

Brush #14:

- any highly pigmented product because it is the most wispy brush of all

- highlighter, it is PERFECT for that

- blush

- bronzer

- removing fallout from the eye shadows

Brush # 15:

- removing fallout from the eye shadows

- highlighter

I think that the real star of this set for me is, surprisingly, not the #13 brush, that everyone would suggest, but the #14. It is indeed unique and I haven't seen anything like that, nor do I have anything like it. It just does not move any makeup underneath. I did not expect to be using it so often. Now I cannot imagine my life without it.

My 2 favourite brushes from this set are #11 and #14, but all brushes are fantastic. Overall, I just want to say that Wayne Goss brushes are my dream brushes. I've already said that before, but they really are.

If you have this set, please, share your thoughts on it in the comments. I hope this review was helpful and thank you for your time :).

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Today I feel like starting a new series of posts, which will be on the looks you can create using your palettes. Some people feel a little lost when it comes to figuring out the different possible looks you can do with one palette, so I want to help you in this, and show you that even the seemingly small palettes, which don't look like they can offer a lot of diversity, can actually be very versatile and ofer a lot of different looks for many occasions. Hopefully, this will inspire you to get the most out of the palettes you own and give you some new ideas. Also I want to point out that this series will not be the series of consecutive posts. The posts might be scatterred in time and between other posts, in fact, this series might never end but keep evolving over time :). I hope you enjoy it.

I thought of starting with the palette that does not look that exciting at first glance. It doesn't look like you can get a whole lot of different looks from it, but if you turn on your creativity you'll see that it hides a lot more options than you could have imagined at first. It is Chanel Ombres Matelassées De Chanel Eye-shadow Palette in Charming.

Chanel Ombres Matelassées De Chanel Eye-shadow Palette in Charming

It is a lovely palette that mostly consists of matte/semi-matte shades (with only 1 really shimmery shade), therefore it is a great basic to have in your makeup wardrobe.

Below I've marked the shades with numbers to make it easier to explain the looks I've created, since they don't have the names.

Also, one thing to note is I've used the brown shade (#4) for my brows in one of the looks, but I don't remember in which one :), sorry. Anyway, just to keep in mind: if you have dark eyebrows similar to mine this shade can work great as a brow color when used with a light hand.

Chanel Ombres Matelassées De Chanel Eye-shadow Palette in Charming

Here is look 1 - an all-occasion matte look - and what I used to create it:

- shade #2 blended all over the lid and into the crease

- shade #4 added a little bit in the outer corner and blended just slightly into the crease

- same shade #4 is smudged at the upper and lower lashline

- shade #5 is added as a liner to top and bottom lashlines just between the roots of the lashes and winged out slightly

- shade #1 is used as a highligter in the inner corner and under the browbone

There you go. Hope you liked the looks. See how much a small palette of just 5 basic colors can do?

I hope now you are inspired to try out new combos and techniques using your palettes. Please, let me know in the comments how you are using this palette, if you own it, or any other ones. I'd love to hear your thouhts and ideas. Thank you for your time. Have a lovely and productive day.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Here comes the latest painting of mine. When I've chosen the photo of what I was going to paint on that master class I wasn't quite sure that I'd cope in just 4 hours (that's how long the master class is): too many objects to focus on and paint, especially given it is see-through glass + flowers, and I'm only learning and have never tried to paint any see-through jars (apart from the one here which was a very simple one). Anyway, I decided to take a risk and if I won't have enough time I'd just finish it during some next master class whenever that would happen. But... surprisingly, I did manage to finish it within 4 hours (yaaay!), and I really like how it turned out :), which is a rare thing, I must admit.

To me it looks quite minimalistic because of the soft color scheme but still interesting, because there is a lot to look at. Below is a little glimpse of the whole process of creating it. hope you enjoy!

Dat happy face :)

This photo is more true to the real color of my painting as it was taken with a different camera